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Haunted by the King of Death, the eleventh book in New York Times best-seller Felicity Heaton’s hot paranormal romance series, Eternal Mates, is now available in ebook and paperback. To celebrate the release of Grave and Isla’s romance, she’s holding a FANTASTIC GIVEAWAY and sharing sneak peeks of the book.

Enter the Haunted by the King of Death international giveaway (ends August 14th) and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate by using the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post or at her website, where you can also download a 5 chapter sample of the novel:

Here’s more about the book and the savage and wicked vampire hero and his powerful phantom mate…

A ruthless vampire warrior, Grave Van der Garde rules the mercenary Preux Chevaliers with an iron fist, determined to retain his hard-won position as one of the most powerful men in Hell and his reputation as the heartless King of Death. But beneath the cold façade beats the heart of a vampire torn between love and hate, ripped in two directions by a single ethereally beautiful female—his fated phantom mate.

Driven by her phantom instincts, Isla used a spell to make her solid in order to deceive the vampire who killed her sister’s demon mate and have revenge on him, condemning him with a single kiss to become a phantom too. But her plan took an unexpected turn when she fell in love with him, and with her new life, and the night she betrayed him shattered both of their hearts. Now, he lives to make her suffer through their connection, one that is fading with them as they begin to slip into the phantom world, and she must face the monster she created if she is to save herself and the vampire she still loves.

With a demon from Grave’s past determined to destroy him and everything he holds dear, and the clock ticking down to their inevitable doom, can he and Isla overcome their past and their pride to work together to claim the future they both desire deep in their hearts? Or will death finally catch up with the vampire king and his phantom mate?

Haunted by the King of Death is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback. Find the links to your preferred retailer:

Haunted by the King of Death – Excerpt

After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal Melia’s smiling face. Her blue eyes seemed brighter today, but they were troubled, as they always were after Frey’s visits.

Sometimes, Isla thought that he stayed away from the castle as much as he could not because he wanted to avoid his duties as a prince but because he wanted to avoid paining Melia with his presence. They both knew that Melia saw echoes of her lost love in Frey.

Just as her sister saw echoes of Valador in her son.

Isla’s gaze sought Tarwyn and found him sitting on a brown fur near the fireplace to the left of the room, his focus locked on the wooden animals in front of him. His dishevelled sandy hair fell across his brow in unruly curls and his tongue poked from between his lips as he concentrated, pale blue eyes fixed with determination on the toys. Isla had brought them to Hell for him as a present from one of her trips to the mortal realm, hoping they would be educational for him.

A moment with Frey had prompted it when he had called a bear a donkey when she had been showing him photographs of the time she had spent in the region of Canada and had then called a deer a bear. Of course, he had known a wolf when he had seen one. No surprise since werewolves made the free realm in Hell their home. She had expected the demon to know a bear though. He must have fought in at least one battle involving shifters of their kind.

So she had purchased the wooden zoo animals when she had seen them in a store.

To this day, part of her still wondered if she had done it to educate Frey too, intending for him to play with them with Tarwyn and learn the difference between a bear and a damned deer and donkey.

“He seems well today,” Melia said in a hushed tone, her voice a soft melody in the quiet white room.

Isla knew Melia wasn’t talking about the boy she watched, but the man who had just left.

“Impatient,” she said in response and Melia’s pale lips curled into a faint smile. “He wants war.”

Her sister glanced across at her and sighed softly, her shoulders shifting with it. “He has not forgiven me for making him remain in the castle while we answered the call of the elves.”

“He will in time. He’s stubborn.”

Melia looked away from her. “Like his brother.”

Isla’s heart ached for her sister as she drifted into the room, the long white skirt of her corseted dress gliding across the wooden floor in her wake, the pure colourless fabric matching her fall of hair that draped across her slender shoulders.

Isla closed the white door and stepped into the room, wishing there was something she could say to take her sister’s mind off Valador, even when she knew it was impossible. Melia saw him every day in their son.

Tarwyn lifted his head, noticing her at last. He was on his bare feet a second later, rushing across the room to hug her legs. His cerulean trousers blended with hers and matched her corset, but where hers were traditional leather, his clothes were soft cotton more suited to a child. He tipped his head back and beamed up at her, his blue eyes sparkling, and began prattling away in the demon tongue about his animals and Frey’s visit.

She listened to him for a while, aware that Melia was watching them from near the arched window. She petted his messy head of blond hair, teased the small horns that were growing in nicely now he was nearly one hundred, and looked at her sister. Melia smiled back at her, the hurt in her eyes gone, replaced with affection and warmth.

Tarwyn took hold of Isla’s hand and tried to pull her towards the fur rug.

“I will play soon. I must speak with your mother first,” she said in the demon tongue and he huffed and pouted, but released her and went back to his toys.

Isla waited for him to sit back down before she crossed the bedchamber to Melia.

Melia’s gaze was on Tarwyn again, a softness in it that made Isla want to sigh and wish for her own child.

Tarwyn was a little miracle, probably the only child of his kind in existence. Phantoms normally bred other phantoms, but the spell that gave Melia substance had allowed her to bear the offspring of her mate, bringing not a phantom but a demon into the world.

“You seem troubled today. What is wrong?” Melia said in English and Isla realised her sister had stopped looking at Tarwyn and was staring at her now.

She wasn’t sure where to begin.

She searched for a starting point, and the courage to tell Melia what she had done and what was happening to her. Her sister wasn’t going to be happy with her. Isla had kept the true reason behind why she had chosen to become corporeal hidden from her sister. Melia had a kind heart for a phantom, a quality that had made her perfect for Valador.

Isla lacked what her sister had been given by the gods. She had kindness in her, but not as Melia did. When faced with someone who had wronged her, or brought harm to her kin, she was as cruel and lethal as any other phantom. Cold. Heartless.

Melia’s sky blue gaze drifted down to her left hand and Isla stilled as she realised she was playing with the braid that hung from her temple on that side. The crystals at the end of the plait were warm beneath her fingertips. She looked down at them, the crimson stark against her pale skin.

A reminder.

She had found the crystals the night she had broken from Grave, had run headlong into the darkness and hadn’t stopped until she had been close to collapse, surrounded by an unfamiliar town and strange faces, leagues away from the comfort of his arms.

She had found a place to rest and an elderly woman at a stall in the market had tried to sell her craft to her, and Isla had seen the crystals and silver wire.

She had braided a length of her long white hair on her left temple, close to her ear, and had woven an intricate knot with the silver wire, slipped the red crystal on and then made another knot below it. On the right side, she had done the same with a blue crystal.

Red for the vampire in her heart.

Blue for the phantom she would become again.

A reminder that one day, everything she loved in this world would slip from her grasp, and it was no one’s fault but her own.

“Isla?” Melia drifted closer and her eyes slipped shut as her sister’s hand came to rest gently on her shoulder, and warmth spread from that spot despite the coolness of her sister’s skin. “Speak to me.”

Isla opened her blue eyes and clutched the red crystal in her fist.

Her vampire mate.

She still dreamed of him every night, and still used the connection between them to keep an eye on him, and still hurt when he used it to get back at her, to show her things she didn’t want to see.

Things that broke her heart.

Things that made her feel guilty.

When she had broken from him, she had convinced herself that she had done the right thing and she had felt nothing for the vampire, no real feelings anyway. She had tried to escape what she had done to him, but she had found she couldn’t, and over the decades she had started to feel guilty about what she had done.

She had seen in her dreams, and in the things he showed to her, that her actions tormented him—her betrayal and the knowledge that the clock was constantly ticking for him. He lived his life waiting for the inevitable day when he would become incorporeal—a phantom male. He wasn’t alone. It hung over her too.

Her freedom was about to be snatched from her and she was starting to feel there was nothing she could do about it. She didn’t want to go back to being a ghost.

She didn’t want that life for Grave either.

She held her hands out in front of her and stared at them.

“Isla.” Melia’s soft voice had gone dark, a thunderclap in her mind that warned her sister knew something was wrong, something terrible.

She looked up into her sister’s eyes, found love and despair in them, and forced the words out.

“My hands faded on the battlefield.”

Melia shook her head and stepped closer, seized both of her shoulders and held her so tightly that it hurt. She savoured the pain, because it made her feel whole, solid, as if she wasn’t about to disappear from this world others enjoyed without appreciating what they had been given by the gods and drift back into the cold world of the phantoms, denied the pleasures others took for granted.

Her sister’s expression turned grave.

It only worsened when Isla gave herself another push.

“I am not the only one this will be happening to,” she whispered and her sister closed her eyes, lowered her head and sighed.

“What have you done?” Melia lifted her head again, canting it to her right, and looked back into her eyes, her eyebrows furrowed and blue gaze filled with a mixture of sympathy and anger.

“Valador… I saw him fall… I saw the male who claimed his life and I-I… I took vengeance on him.” She wasn’t sure she could say any more, not when Melia’s pretty face was shifting towards horrified.

“I told you of the phantom mage who had made me corporeal because I believed that you sought substance purely so you could be with me and Tarwyn when he was born,” Melia snapped and the air in the room chilled, the light sucking from it, turning it shades of grey instead of white. “Valador would not have wanted such a thing. If I had known your plan, I would have stopped you.”

It wasn’t the response Isla had expected and she staggered back a step, slipping from her sister’s grasp and shaking as she battled the surge of guilt and shame, and the pain that always came with it. It beat fiercely in her heart.

“I saw the vampire kill your husband… I wanted to avenge him.” As any phantom would have, but the look on her sister’s face said that it hadn’t been what she had wanted.

Being corporeal had affected Melia’s mind, had softened it and destroyed her phantom nature. It had made her weak.

“Vengeance, Sister. I wanted vengeance and I took it. I am a phantom,” Isla barked and regretted it when Melia only sighed, the sorrow remaining in her eyes, leaving her feeling that she was trying to justify what she had done when she didn’t honestly believe she had done the right thing.

It had felt like the right thing at the time, when she had been a phantom.

But then she had fallen in love with the vampire.

“All you have done is doom yourself and now I will lose both my husband and my beloved sister.” Melia’s words were softly spoken but they fell like lead around her, striking hard and shaking her.

“I can fix it,” she said.

Melia was silent for so long that Isla’s nerves kicked up a notch, her heart pounding erratically against her chest as she struggled to find a way to undo what she had done. Was it possible?

“You will need a mage,” Melia said at last and relief swept through Isla but lasted only as long as it took for her sister to speak again. “They are rare now, and you must try to find the one who performed the spell on you. He may be able to fix it… but…”

Isla swallowed hard. “But?”

Melia looked down at her feet. “It will be best you take the vampire with you.”

“No,” Isla snapped and sliced her hand through the air between them. “No.”

It wasn’t going to happen. Grave hated her, probably wanted nothing more than to kill her. His reputation before she had tricked him into becoming a phantom had been deadly enough, should have warned her away, but now he was second to the Devil in the list of most feared males in Hell.

Going anywhere near him would be a death sentence.

“You have done more than merely trick the vampire into becoming a phantom. You are bound to him. The mage’s spell would have made it happen. To make a phantom flesh and blood requires a powerful bond… and that bond must be periodically renewed. I had thought your bond to me was enough… but now I see how wrong I have been. It is your bond to the vampire that gives you substance.” Melia drifted closer again and fixed her with soft blue eyes filled with fear laced with love, and something else.

Something that chilled Isla’s blood and sent a shiver down her spine.

“I will bond with another man,” Isla blurted and Melia shook her head, causing her long white hair to sway across her bare shoulders.

“That is not possible, and you know it. You are bound to the vampire and the vampire to you. If he does not help you, you will both fade.”

That chill grew stronger, the shiver fiercer. “I do not wish to become incorporeal again.”

Her sister’s expression turned pained, flooded with sorrow. “You will not become incorporeal, Isla… you will fade.”

Fade.

Fade was the phantom way of saying die.

Isla swallowed to wet her suddenly dry throat and slowly shook her head as she looked at her sister and realised her sister knew first-hand that the danger was very real.

“How long do you have?” Isla whispered, unable to get her voice to work as her throat tightened and heart ached at the thought of losing her sister.

Melia smiled sadly and looked off to her right, at her son, a wealth of love in her eyes. “I will live long enough to see Tarwyn grow into a man and then I will join my love on the other side. I am only able to be here now because of my bond to Tarwyn. He has his father’s blood and that is keeping me corporeal. I am not sad, for I knew what was to come when I bound my life to my love’s.”

Her sister was going to choose to fade.

Isla’s knees weakened and she had to lock them to keep standing as that knowledge crashed over her, battering her and stealing her strength.

Her sister was going to choose death over life.

Isla wanted the opposite, and that desire flowed through her stronger than ever as she thought about what her sister was going to do. She refused to make such a choice for herself and she refused to condemn Grave to death too.

He was going to kill her the moment he set eyes on her rather than hearing her out, but Melia was right and she had to at least attempt to convince him to work with her to find a phantom mage. If she could just get him to listen to her, she was sure she could make him see reason.

She almost laughed out loud at that.

Grave had lost all reason when she had betrayed him. He had become a vampire bent on hunting her, hurting her, and she was proposing to walk right into his hands and place her life into them.

He was going to live up to his reputation, the name Hell had given him and one he justly deserved.

The King of Death.

Haunted by the King of Death is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback.

Find all the links, a fantastic 5 chapter downloadable sample of the book, and also enter the giveaway and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at her website:

I love this series….. Haunted by the King of Death is another great read (and what do you know…. after not being a fan of Grave I adored him as our hero – this was FH’s writing and story-telling at its best!!!!)

We’ve met the dark, sullen vampire hero of this book previously in the series and while we knew he hated females we really had no idea of exactly why… Enter Isla, a phantom who is the mate of the King of Death except in this case, instead of being delighted that they are mated, neither party is happy and as the story unfolds, we find out exactly why this is the case.

This story was really well put together and pulled in characters from the Eternal Mates series as well as some of our favourites from the VET series…. Gods, I was over the moon when Grave turned up in London – I’ll leave it to your imagination to ponder who he visited!! 😉

There was a lot of heartache and soul searching in this book by both leads. Even though they really didn’t want anything to do with each other there was still a huge pull and they had to work together to save their lives.

We met up with a foe of Graves who really has it in for him (mind you, given his chosen profession and his attitude, I had kinda expected to meet more who hated him!!) we also had to watch Isla deal with a real creep of a character – gods, I hate his kind (you’ll see what I mean when reading!) As ever, there was a lot of action, the story was full of suspense and some really bloody battles. At points I was having trouble seeing a way forward for the couple and wasn’t sure how Felicity was going to leave them… but as ever, she gave us an enthralling, exciting and entertaining read and another great addition to this fantastic series!

A 5* read for me!!!

About the Author

Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you’re a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:

It’s time for the cover reveal of the next Eternal Mates series book, Haunted by the King of Death. I’m sure everyone has been curious about the savage, merciless vampire Lord Van der Garde since he prowled onto the scene in the second book in the series, Claimed by a Demon King, and now it’s time to find out why this dangerous and deadly alpha male is just so damned distant and untrusting of females.

If you haven’t had a chance to step into this passionate and action-packed world of dark elves, fae, demons, vampires, shifters and hunters, then you can take the leap with the first book in the series, Kissed by a Dark Prince, which is only 99c / 99p right now.
Find the links to your favourite retailers HERE:

Here’s more about the next book in the series, due for release on July 30th!

Haunted by the King of Death

(Eternal Mates Romance Series Book 11)

Felicity Heaton

A ruthless vampire warrior, Grave Van der Garde rules the mercenary Preux Chevaliers with an iron fist, determined to retain his hard-won position as one of the most powerful men in Hell and his reputation as the heartless King of Death. But beneath the cold façade beats the heart of a vampire torn between love and hate, ripped in two directions by a single ethereally beautiful female—his fated phantom mate.

Driven by her phantom instincts, Isla used a spell to make her solid in order to deceive the vampire who killed her sister’s demon mate and have revenge on him, condemning him with a single kiss to become a phantom too. But her plan took an unexpected turn when she fell in love with him, and with her new life, and the night she betrayed him shattered both of their hearts. Now, he lives to make her suffer through their connection, one that is fading with them as they begin to slip into the phantom world, and she must face the monster she created if she is to save herself and the vampire she still loves.

With a demon from Grave’s past determined to destroy him and everything he holds dear, and the clock ticking down to their inevitable doom, can he and Isla overcome their past and their pride to work together to claim the future they both desire deep in their hearts? Or will death finally catch up with the vampire king and his phantom mate?

Haunted by the King of Death is due for release in eBook and paperback on July 30th 2016 and will be available from all major online book retailers on that day, including Barnes and Noble Nook.

Join Felicity’s mailing listto receive a notification when Haunted by the King of Death is released, PLUS a sneak preview of the first 5 chapters of the book and chances to win a signed paperback copy.

Felicity Heatonis a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you’re a
fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:

Awakened by a Demoness, the tenth book in New York Times best-seller Felicity Heaton’s hot paranormal romance series, Eternal Mates, is now available in ebook and paperback. To celebrate the release of this awesome milestone in the series, she’s holding a FANTASTIC GIVEAWAY and sharing sneak peeks of the book.

Enter the Awakened by a Demoness international giveaway (ends June 5th) and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate by using the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post or at her website, where you can also download a 4 chapter sample of the novel:

Here’s more about this forbidden romance between a powerful angel warrior and one very sassy wicked demoness, including an excerpt for you to sink those teeth into!

Awakened by a Demoness

(Eternal Mates Romance Series Book 10)

Felicity Heaton

Asteria of the Second Legion of demons has messed up. Royally. With a capital everything. Certain that her dark lord is about to end her in the most painful way imaginable, she’s stunned when the fallen angel offers her an uncharacteristic shot at redemption—and determined not to fail him again. With her life on the line, she sets out on a mission that sounds easy but proves to be far from it when a hot slice of angelic eye candy comes storming into her life, stirring dangerous desires and tempting her more than any male before him.

Fifth Commander of the Echelon, the highest order of angels in Heaven and those responsible for hunting demons, he will allow nothing to stand in the way of fulfilling the mission he began close to a century ago so he can finally return to his home. On the verge of securing the half-breed he has been hunting, he can almost taste victory—until a sassy demoness struts into his life, awakening wicked needs and forbidden hungers that will test him to his limit.

When their mission brings them on a collision course, can they fight the fierce heat of the passion that blazes between them to claim a victory for their side or will it burn their resistance to ashes and set their hearts on fire with a love both forbidden and eternal?

Awakened by a Demoness is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback. Find the links to your preferred retailer HERE:

Awakened by a Demoness – Excerpt

Asteria held her shit together as she approached the monolithic black citadel, her boots loud on the polished obsidian flagstones of its central circular courtyard. She tipped her chin up, clenched her fists at her sides to stop them from shaking, and strode towards her doom with the same resolve as she had managed to cling to during her trek through the previous six circular courtyards that surrounded the citadel like concentric rings.

She was fairly certain that these were the last few moments of her life and it was about to come to a grisly close.

It had taken her days of grovelling to her superiors, issuing profuse apologies unbecoming of a demon and having to bite her tongue when her temper had flared, but she had secured a meeting with her dark lord. She had been elated when the leader of her legion had informed her that their master was willing to speak with her, but as the hours had trickled
past, that elation had turned to full blown fear.

She had failed in a very important mission, the sort no amount of grovelling could actually correct, so she wasn’t sure why she had thought this was going to end well.

The meeting a ridiculous part of her had believed was going to somehow redeem her was probably in fact a meeting in which she was going to discover her punishment.

Would it be a swim in the lava pit while the Devil watched her burn, or something far worse?

She wouldn’t be the first demoness, or demon, to be sentenced to spend time in his bed.

It wasn’t an honour.

It was a death sentence.

She hadn’t heard of anyone surviving the torture of being his bedfellow, mostly because those he didn’t eventually kill during the act were tossed into the lava pit when he was done with them.

Several low-ranking young demons scurried past her, dressed in black jackets and trousers, their feet bare and bloodied. The black sacks they carried over their shoulders dripped crimson, smelling of entrails.

Asteria swallowed hard and it was damned difficult to hold her nerve as she watched the clean up team carting away whatever poor bastard had just finished meeting with the Prince of Darkness.

An unfortunate lover?

She had heard the stories from those who served in his dark citadel, the young souls assigned to mopping up the mess after a lover had done or said something to flip his switch. Rumour had it that he went through at least two mattresses a week, and demanded a fresh, brand new set of sheets every few hours. His appetite for fucking was as insatiable as his appetite for destruction and death, and unfortunately that meant the two often coincided.

She sucked down a deep breath as she reached the grand arched entrance of the towering castle and looked up its height, taking in the jagged towers that rose into the dark grey sky of Hell. Light from the bubbling pits of lava beyond the walls of the central courtyard and the braziers that formed a circle, lining those walls, tried to lend warmth to the matt black stone of the fortress but only managed to make it look more sinister by casting shadows in the recesses.

The four huge demon males guarding the entrance eyed her, their elliptical pupils stretched thin in the centre of their black irises and burning gold. Elite. They were kept in a permanent state of rage in order to maintain their appearance, keeping them looking as dangerous and deadly as her kind could be.

She had such a dark side herself, but unleashing it right now would be a big mistake. Huge. Her dark lord didn’t appreciate those below him showing up on his doorstep looking ready for war.

It was the reason she had chosen her lighter black armour, the red-edged metal plates fitting more closely to her legs and hips, and across her chest, and had forgone wearing the gauntlets that normally encased her forearms and hands. She had also brushed her long black hair, tamed the gold-to-red streak that ran down the front right side, and had taken her time in front of the mirror in her hut, applying black around her blue eyes and painting her lips crimson.

She had even taken the time to preen her black leathery wings, buffing the membranes with wax until they shone, and had done the same with the small obsidian horns that curled from behind the pointed tips of her ears, following the curve down to end in a point near the lobes.

She eyed the four ripped bare-chested demon males guarding the entrance again, envied the bastards a little as she gazed at their horns. Males had bigger ones, the sort that twisted around to form deadly daggers beside their temples when they were enraged.

Asteria sighed, wishing she had such horns.

One of her friends had told her once that she had horn envy. She had denied it at the time, but it was true. Whenever she found herself banging a demon, she couldn’t keep her hands off their horns. She had even tried to rip one out of a male once. He had thought she was merely being rough and had enjoyed it. The damn thing had been rooted too deeply though and she had sort of forgotten about trying to break it off when he had begun thrusting harder between her legs, turning her brain to mush.

One of the male’s gazes slid her way and he raked an approving look over her. His black horns flared a little further, revealing his desire and interest to her.

She flicked her onyx hair over her shoulder, shot him a wink, and kept walking, a little swing to her hips with each step now as she silently flirted with the brute. She looked him up and down just as she passed him, bit her lip at the sight of so much hard muscle, and swore that if she survived the next few minutes she would be back to take him up on his offer.

Which would be a miracle, and those didn’t happen in Hell.

Still, he was a nice distraction as she ogled his arse over her shoulder, one that kept her thoughts away from her imminent death until someone approached her.

“Asteria of the Second Legion?” a demoness said, a wobble in her throaty voice.

She nodded and looked at her, and quickly masked the fear that bolted through her when she found herself face to face with a young female dressed in little more than a scrap of crimson around her hips and breasts, a thick black metal collar that was tight against her throat, and a lot of bruises.

By the Devil, was this the future she was doomed to endure staring right back at her with bleak bloodshot eyes and a startling lack of horns.

Someone had cut them off. Asteria tried not to gawp at them but she couldn’t stop herself, and her stomach plummeted when she realised they hadn’t been shorn.

They had been broken.

The black stumps that remained were brutally fractured.

The female’s hands twitched at her sides, as if with an urge to touch the horns Asteria stared at, so she dragged her eyes away, feeling bad that she had upset the young demoness.

Demons tried their best to be the toughest, most badass creatures in Hell, but when it boiled down to it, they had feelings too, and this female had been through the mill.

Probably at the hands of the one creature in Hell who didn’t possess a single jot of emotion.

The fallen angel she was about to meet.

The young demoness bowed her head and led the way, and Asteria tried to busy herself with taking in all the details of the palace her dark master called home in an attempt to stop herself from preening her horns, reassuring herself they were still perfect. Still there. On the outside, it matched his image perfectly, but on the inside… it was quite the opposite.

Oh, it was sumptuous and decadent, but it wasn’t exactly goth-chic as she had expected.

The black of the outside world gave way to white marble floors that were so highly polished she could see herself in them. They reflected the light from the crystal chandeliers, and that same light shone off the gold filigree that decorated the dark wooden ceiling. The walls were smooth and, of all things, papered. The vestibule and hallway that led off it had crimson wallpaper with black almost fleur-de-lys patterns on it. She had been in some expensive homes in the mortal world and the Devil had decorated his in that same style, but with a more sinister edge that she would have attributed more to a vampire than a fallen angel.

Her escort stopped at a set of arched wooden double doors and bowed.

Asteria guessed this was it. The bloody end to her somewhat not glorious career as a demon. She was a damned idiot for failing to capture the people who had slaughtered Barafnir but how the hell was she meant to have known the demon arsehole had been one of the Devil’s favourites?

She reached for the solid gold knob on one door, pulled down another breath to steel herself, and took hold of it. It was warm to the touch. Nothing like the cold bastard waiting on the other side. She could feel him there, his power vibrating through her, calling to her.

She closed her eyes, twisted the knob and pushed the door open just as she lifted her chin and fixed her gaze straight ahead.

It landed on a male lounging in a huge black throne in the centre of an enormous blue-walled room, wearing only gold-edged obsidian armour on his lower half.

Heaven be damned, because it had made him breathtaking.

She knew he was a brute, seven feet tall and dark and deadly, but he was a beautiful bastard, and he knew it as he sat there on his throne, black hair falling around his broad shoulders and chiselled torso on show.

The air in the expansive open room vibrated with his power, making her blood hum and skin tingle.

His red eyes held hers, a bored edge to his handsome face, and he lazily lifted his right hand from the arm of his throne and crooked a clawed finger, beckoning her.

Asteria’s palms sweated. She should have dressed a little sexier, taken more time about her appearance. It ran through her gaining volume on each pass as she sauntered towards him, feeling his heat rolling over her, power curling around her, drowning out the part of her that had feared him and replacing it with something altogether more terrifying.

Desire.

The corner of his profane mouth twitched into a smirk.

He knew he was affecting her, and while his mouth said that pleased him, the way his eyes darkened said it didn’t.

She straightened her spine, crushed her unruly feelings and boxed them away, and held her head high as she marched towards him, all business. Not weak. Not affected by just his damned gorgeous presence.

Her step faltered when she noticed a smouldering bloody stain on the white marble floor.

His last appointment?

By the Devil, she was going to die in the next few seconds, or worse, at a later date after he was done with her.

When she was within a few metres, he lowered his right leg from his left knee and set his foot on the floor. His hands came down over the edges of the arms of his black throne, curling around to press sharp black claws into the stone and causing his biceps to bulge.

Behind him, a sheer black curtain did a poor job of concealing the other half of the room and she tried not to look there but her eyes were drawn to the hazy glow of candles on the other side, her focus snagged by the low moans coming from that direction.

That heat curled around her again, pushed at her will but she pushed back, refusing to fall prey to it and the Devil’s dark allure. She wasn’t about to become like those females on the other side of the curtain who were probably writhing around on his bed, waiting impatiently for the male who was staring at her.

“Asteria of the Second Legion.” His deep voice rumbled around the room like thunder, charging the air and sending tremors of pleasure through her, and she had to squeeze her thighs to stop herself from collapsing into a puddle of goo at his feet. Heaven be doubly damned, it had built this male for sin. Thoughts of dirty hard sex popped into her head, illicit images that she did her best to shove away as soon as they burst into existence. “You disappointed me.”

Just like that, the spell over her shattered and cold fear replaced the wicked heat of desire.

This was it.

Her death knell.

BLP REVIEW ~ Tracy

Hells bells & heaven above!!!! I loved Awakened by a Demoness
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Felicity’s work. PNR is my ‘go to’ genre and her books totally hit the spot!

This story continues the Eternal Mates series but, for me, it had a different kinda vibe from the rest of the reads. I actually got the same kind of feelings that I had reading some of the books in the Her Angel series – and that was mainly down to the storyline.

Heaven and Hell are up to no good, again… They are both out to get a half-breed; pitting a feisty, flirty and determined demoness and an uptight, straight-laced angel, an Echelon no less, against each other in their race to ‘turn’ the half demon/half angel to their own side.. but, as we’ve come to expect with Ms Heaton’s stories, not everything is as it seems……

I really fell for this couple. The spark between Asteria and the Fifth Commander is there from their first encounter… they are drawn to each other, regardless of how much they try to ignore the ‘enemy’. The build up of their relationship was fraught with doubt and second guessing of their connection and feelings. Was it all real, were they really mates, as Asteria thought, or was there something else behind the attraction and their inability to stay away or stop thinking about each other.

Asteria is a lot of fun. She’s got no filter, she’s sexy, sassy and will use any means required to get what she needs. When it comes to finding her target she determined as hell – she has to be as, with this mission, she’s pretty much fighting for her life – if she fails her duty this time, the outcome could be way worse than death – and for this particular demoness, that’s unthinkable!!

The Echelon; he’s hot, good looking and he HATES demons – his kind will kill any that they come into contact with… but when he meets Asteria, for some reason, he fights those feelings. He experiences emotions and thoughts that an angel shouldn’t have for anyone, never mind a demoness… and he doesn’t trust that they are real.

Even though they are in competition to find the half-breed, they end up working together to try to locate her as she’s currently hidden in a coven. When they do finally find her, she tells them something that blows everything they’ve ever known to hell and back…. That’s all I’m saying, ‘cos anything else would give the game away! 😉

Packed full of the action, adventure, twists, turns and intrigue, with all of the heat, passion and sexy times we love, Awakened by a Demoness felt like the start of something bigger to come in the Eternal Mates story arc…. I could be way off base in my thinking, but I’m excited to find out where this fab series goes next.

A fantastic, 5* read. Even though AbaD is the 10th book in the series, it could easily be read as a standalone, but IMHO, read the rest of the books, they are well worth it!

xxxxx

Awakened by a Demoness is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback.

Find all the links, a fantastic 4 chapter downloadable sample of the book, and also enter the giveaway and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at her website:

Felicity Heatonis a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you’re a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:

It’s time for the cover reveal of the next Eternal Mates series book, Awakened by a Demoness.
Following on the heels of Bleu and Taryn’s epic romance, Possessed by a Dark Warrior, this more light-hearted story of Rey and Asteria packs action and forbidden romance into a novella that is hotter than Hell on a summer’s day! What better way to celebrate the milestone of the series reaching 10 books?

If you haven’t had a chance to step into this passionate and action-packed world of dark elves, fae, demons, vampires, shifters and hunters, then you can take the leap with the first book in the series, Kissed by a Dark Prince, which is only 99c / 99p right now.
Find the links to your favourite retailers

Here’s more about the next book in the series, due for release on May 21st!

Awakened by a Demoness

(Eternal Mates Romance Series Book 10)

Felicity Heaton

Asteria of the Second Legion of demons has messed up. Royally. With a capital everything. Certain that her dark lord is about to end her in the most painful way imaginable, she’s stunned when the fallen angel offers her an uncharacteristic shot at redemption—and determined not to fail him again. With her life on the line, she sets out on a mission that sounds easy but proves to be far from it when a hot slice of angelic eye candy comes storming into her life, stirring dangerous desires and tempting her more than any male before him.

Fifth Commander of the Echelon, the highest order of angels in Heaven and those responsible for hunting demons, he will allow nothing to stand in the way of fulfilling the mission he began close to a century ago so he can finally return to his home. On the verge of securing the half-breed he has been hunting, he can almost taste victory—until a sassy demoness struts into his life, awakening wicked needs and forbidden hungers that will test him to his limit.

When their mission brings them on a collision course, can they fight the fierce heat of the passion that blazes between them to claim a victory for their side or will it burn their resistance to ashes and set their hearts on fire with a love both forbidden and eternal?

Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you’re a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:

Possessed by a Dark Warrior – Cover Reveal

It’s time for the cover reveal of the next Eternal Mates series book, Possessed by a Dark Warrior.
This is one I know a lot of readers are waiting for, since it stars a certain dark elf called Bleu.
Yes, it’s finally time for our gruff moody commander to put his head in the sacred noose…

If you haven’t had a chance to step into this passionate and action-packed world of dark elves, fae, demons, vampires, shifters and hunters, then you can take the leap with the first book in the series, Kissed by a Dark Prince, which is only 99c / 99p right now. Find the links to your favourite retailers HERE:

Here’s more about the next book in the series, due for release on April 9th!

A powerful warrior and commander of the dark elf legions, Bleu is a loyal and devoted male, and one who has never failed in anything—except one thing. Love. When an elusive female dragon shifter surfaces in Hell again, giving him a mission to hurl himself into, he gladly returns to his hunt for her and the deadly blade she stole from his prince seven centuries ago, but as he closes in on his prey, fate reveals she is far more than his enemy.

Having escaped from the black market arena and her life as a slave, Taryn sets her sights back on the task she began seven hundred years ago when her brother stole a precious sword, but in the three centuries she’s been a captive, everything has changed. Corrupted by a craving for power, her brother has become dangerously obsessed with finding the blade and using it to claim the ultimate treasure—the position of King of Hell.

Faced with having to end her beloved twin to stop him from bringing all of Hell to its knees before him, will Taryn be strong enough to use the very blade he seeks against him? And when Bleu finally catches his elusive prey, will he listen to his head as it demands he complete his mission or his heart as it demands he claim his eternal mate?

Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you’re a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:

New York Times best-selling paranormal romance author Felicity Heaton has added a new boxed set to her Eternal Love collection. This time, the set features FIVE sexy shifters to go with her FOUR sinful vampires in the first collection. The great news is that to celebrate the release of the second collection, she’s offering both boxed sets for only 99c / 99p each at all retailers right now!

That’s right, you can get your hands on Eternal Love: Shapeshifter Romance Boxed Set and Eternal Love: Vampire Romance Boxed Set for only $1.98!

Step into the dark, dangerous and seductive world of werewolves and big cat shifters in this amazing limited time only boxed set of shapeshifter romances packed with passion, forbidden desire, emotion and suspense… and love that will last forever.

CRAVED BY AN ALPHA

Having turned his back on his snow leopard pride, Cavanaugh has been counting the days until he’s free of a role he never wanted—one that separated him from his fated female and stands between them. But just days before he’s free to be with her, Eloise walks back into his life and demands he save the pride from the tyrant he left in charge. As they travel to Bhutan, will Eloise be able to resist the burning need that Cavanaugh reignites in her and remember her place in the pride? And can Cavanaugh find a way to save his kin and claim the future he craves with the woman he loves?

HUNTER’S MOON

The horror of the night he failed to save his werewolf pack from the cruelty of their vampire masters has haunted Nicolae for one hundred years, driving him deep into the Canadian wilderness in search of peace. That peace is threatened when unfamiliar hunters and the scent of blood lead him to a beautiful vampire and a hard decision—face his past and help her or risk losing everyone again.

EMBRACING THE WOLF

The night Amon revealed that he was an alpha werewolf and she too held the gene in her blood, Kat fled his pack, but no matter how far she runs, she cannot shake the ‘beast’ inside her or the knowledge that one day she will mature into a werewolf—into Amon’s mate. Four years on and now a member of the Werewolf Control Forces, Kat hides in plain sight among their ranks, each night fighting the ‘beast’ inside of her and hunting rogue werewolves with a vengeance. But when she discovers Amon is dangerously close to turning rogue and only she can save him, will she hunt him or will she embrace the wolf to save them both?

IN HEAT

A heat wave isn’t the only thing making London too hot for lawyer Kim. She’s been spending each night with a man who sets her body and heart on fire. The problem? He’s a man who always sprouts black fur and purrs, and he’s only a dream. Walking into her office, the last thing she expects is to meet Erik, a man who sends her temperature soaring and who resembles her dream guy exactly. As the flames of passion between them burn white-hot, Erik is willing to risk everything to claim his fated mate, but when his secret is revealed, will Kim turn her back on him or give him the forever after he craves?

CRAVE

Callum has come to the city of romance on business, not pleasure, but when he sets eyes on a gorgeous werewolf in a nightclub, he can’t ignore the dark carnal craving she ignites in him. His work for Vampirerotique, the erotic theatre he runs with three other vampires, can wait. The only thing that matters now is satisfying his sinful hunger for a woman who most vampires would consider an enemy.

Step into the dark, dangerous and seductive world of vampires in this amazing limited time only boxed set of vampire romances packed with passion, emotion and suspense… and love that will last forever.

HEART OF DARKNESS

A vampire prince intent on avenging his murdered sister, Aleksandr Nemov won’t stop until the hunter’s line is extinct. Each kill pushes him towards the darkness all vampires hold within their hearts and devolving into a beast. Time is running out as he tracks the last hunter to Prague. There he finds a beautiful woman who could be his one chance for salvation, but is it already too late for him?

SEDUCE

Bloodlust runs in Antoine’s veins, a dark master waiting for the day it will reign over him. Now a woman with a pure soul and wicked intentions has him in her sights and is determined to crack the ice around his heart, and she might just save or damn him. When Sera discovers the shocking truth about his past and the darkness that lurks within, will she be strong enough to seize his heart or will she lose him to the ghosts that haunt him?

A PROMISE OF PASSION

Alicia is a vampire hunter, unable to find a man strong enough to love and accept her for who she is. When Kassian, a tall and seductively handsome vampire walks into her life and vows to protect her, she doesn’t know what to think or feel. His eyes make promises that his searing touch backs up, but can she get past the fact that he’s a vampire and accept him for who he is?

SEVENTH CIRCLE

Lincoln is a powerful pureblood vampire with a problem. He’s caught up in a prophecy and has little time left to unravel the mystery of the contract between his lord and the Devil before he dies. When witches foretell that a vampire hunter will save his life, he’s prepared to work with his most hated enemy, but he isn’t prepared for the forbidden desire he feels when he meets her.

The price of these two fantastic boxed sets will go up in February, so be sure to grab your copy today to avoid disappointment!

About Felicity Heaton

Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you’re a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:

Her Sinful Angel, book eight in New York Times best-seller Felicity Heaton’s hot paranormal romance series, Her Angel, is now available in ebook and paperback. To celebrate the release, she’s holding a FANTASTIC GIVEAWAY at her website.

Find out how to enter the Her Sinful Angel international giveaway (ends August 9th) and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at her website, where you can also download a 5 chapter sample of the novel:

SPECIAL OFFER – Release weekend only! Get HER SINFUL ANGEL for just $0.99 / £0.99 at Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, Kobo Books, Nook, Google Play and All Romance eBooks! Hurry, this offer ends at midnight on August 2nd and the book reverts to full price on August 3rd!

Here’s more about Her Sinful Angel, including an excerpt from this paranormal romance novel.

Cast out of Heaven and now the king of Hell, Lucifer is a powerful fallen angel warrior with a heart as cold as ice and soul as black as the bottomless pit. For millennia, he has ruled his realm with an iron fist as he plots the demise of his ancient enemies. When one of those enemies dumps an unconscious mortal female in the courtyard of his fortress and leaves her there, Lucifer finds himself entranced by the beguiling beauty and tempted beyond all reason. But is the enchanting Nina an innocent pawn in the eternal game or part of a plot against him?

Her Sinful Angel is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback. Find the links to your preferred retailer here:

Her Sinful Angel – Excerpt

Nina groaned and rolled onto her back, tossing her right arm above her head. Rather than the expected soft pillow, it struck something firmly padded. She loosed another muffled moan and frowned, the urge to open her sore eyes and see what she had hit dampened by the riot in her head. Sweat trickled between her breasts and soaked her back where it pressed into the hard whatever it was she was lying on.

Her couch?

She couldn’t remember it being this uncomfortable.

But if it wasn’t her couch, what was it?

More than that, where was she?

Her frown deepened as she tried to recall whether she had gone out after work with her small group of friends, had possibly had a little too much to drink, and had ended up on one of their couches.

She couldn’t remember anything after leaving work for the evening.

A prickling sensation ran down her spine and over her limbs, and she pulled down a sharp breath. She had probably drunk a little too much. It had been a Friday night after all. It wouldn’t be the first time she had taken things too far when attempting to unwind and forget her worries.

A scuffing sound sent another bolt of panic through her bones and she cracked her eyes open, an apology to whichever friend had taken her in balanced on her lips.

Those words fled her when her gaze settled straight on a tall elegantly dressed black-haired man who stood a few feet from her, staring down at her with eyes the colour of pure gold.

Incredible.

But also terrifying.

She didn’t know this man.

Nina shoved herself up on the seat, her damp palms gripping the black velvet and giving her purchase. Every instinct she possessed said to flee, to make an excuse and run like hell, but her head turned violently and all she could do was bite out a moan from between clenched teeth and press her left hand to her forehead.

“You are unwell?” The deep lush male voice washed over her like a soothing balm, easing the pain in her skull and her fear at the same time.

He moved, the soft click of his heels alerting her that he was drawing closer. Her panic went into overdrive again and she scrambled backwards to place some distance between them, hit nothing where the rear of the couch should have been, and landed hard on a cold floor with her legs sticking up in the air.

She stared in surprise at her tights-clad feet and the dark ceiling beyond them, needing a moment to take in what had just happened.

The man appeared above her, his head canting and his golden eyes narrowing as he looked down at her. “Did you hurt yourself?”

Nina quickly shook her head and clutched at the hem of her black skirt, keeping it covering her thighs. She had already made a fool of herself. She didn’t need to go adding flashing her knickers at this man to that. Besides, she still wasn’t sure who he was, how she knew him, or where she was. A flash of panties might be seen as an invitation, and as handsome as this man was, she wasn’t about to invite him between her legs, no matter how long it had been since she had slept with a guy.

She rolled onto her side and scrambled back onto her feet, practically leaping onto them to evade the hand he offered. He stared at his outstretched hand as she smoothed her skirt down, his left eyebrow quirking in a manner that looked a heck of a lot like irritation to her.

When he moved, she expected him to advance towards her.

He retreated instead, backing towards an unlit black marble fireplace against an equally black wall behind him and lowering his hand to his side at the same time.

Nina looked around her as something dawned on her.

Everything in the damned room was black.

Where the hell was she? Some sort of goth retreat?

“There is no need to panic. I do not mean you any harm. You were left in the courtyard of this house and were brought in to keep you safe.”

Nina’s gaze whipped back to the handsome man.

And hell, he was handsome. The sort of man that could have a horde of women swooning with little more than a smile, their knees buckling beneath them. She wasn’t immune to his beauty. She wasn’t sure any woman would be able to say that she was. If they did, they would be a liar.

He oozed wicked sensuality as he stared across the room at her, his golden eyes fixed with hawk-like intensity on hers and his soft lips tilted at the corners into a hint of a smile.

Nina shook her head to rid it of the dangerous thoughts piling up in it and focused on what the man had said.

“Keep me safe?” She frowned at that, another ripple of panic running through her as she tried to guess the answer to that question and feared what he would say.

He toyed with the left cuff of his black shirt and then smoothed the fine sleeve of his black suit jacket over it, carefully adjusting it until it was perfect.

Just like him.

Nina shoved that little voice out of her head, determined to focus on the matter at hand and not the man at hand. She was in a strange place, in a stranger’s house, and he was saying that she was in danger.

“You are safe now,” he said with silken persuasiveness that had her dumbly nodding in agreement even when she didn’t honestly feel safe. “The man who brought you here is gone.”

“A man?” Nina’s eyes widened as she tried to remember what had happened to her but her mind remained blank, refusing to supply anything beyond leaving work for the evening.

He nodded and smiled, and it hit her hard in the chest, knocking the wind from her and sending her head spinning.

Her panic returned full force. “I want to go home.”

The man’s smile held. “I am afraid that is not possible yet, but arrangements will be made for your return. If you tell me where you live, I will pass on the information and they will see to it.”

They? Pass on the information? Was he the master of this house or a servant?

“London… I live in London. Anywhere in London will do.” She figured it couldn’t hurt to tell him the city she was from, but she wasn’t about to hand out her address to him. She still wasn’t sure whether there was another man who had taken her, or whether it was an elaborate lie to throw her off his scent.

What if this man had been the one to take her?

She twisted her hand in her white blouse, tugging at the material, struggling to breathe as a weight pressed down on her chest and she fought the wave of panic that threatened to sweep her away. She had to focus.

Her gaze fell to his hands as he toyed with his cuff again, neatening it, and her eyebrows pinched together. He had black nails. Why did he have black nails? Everything about him screamed businessman or butler, but he had black painted nails. She stared at them, unable to drag her eyes away. They were a bit too polished and impeccable. Were they false nails?

Acrylic?

They distracted her and she lost herself in pondering what they were made from and why he had black nails. It was only when the sensation of his piercing gaze on her faded and he moved his hands behind his back that she snapped back to the room. What was wrong with her today?

She was normally quite focused, but she felt foggy, her mind all over the place and easily lured into concentrating on the smallest things when the bigger picture was demanding her attention. She was starting to get the impression that it wasn’t purely panic altering her behaviour, and that only panicked her further.

“You should breathe.” Those three softly spoken words had her lifting her gaze back to the man’s sober face. The moment their eyes locked, her fear subsided again and the weight on her chest began to dissipate.

Nina breathed slowly but steadily, drawing each breath deep into her lungs.

“Can you recall what happened to you?” he said.

She lowered her eyes to her bare feet, her dark stockings not quite black enough to make them blend into the cool stone floor, and frowned as she searched for an answer to his question.

“I remember leaving work.” Nina looked down at her blouse, at the gash in the soft white material, and wondered for what felt like the hundredth time what had happened between leaving work and waking in this strange room.

Her head ached, throbbing deeply as she struggled to capture the barest sliver of a memory, just one moment that might help her understand what had happened to her. When the ache became a stabbing pain that felt as if someone was pushing a hot needle through her brain, she pressed her hand to her forehead, screwed her eyes shut and grimaced.

A flash of a shadowy figure blasted across her mind.

A man.

Nina raised her chin and opened her eyes, staring across the room at the black-haired man. “You were right. There was a man… but I can’t remember what he looked like.”

She tried but her head hurt so much that her stomach turned, sickness brewing there as the pain intensified. What had the man done to her? Was it drugs? Was that why her brain was so fuzzy?

“Do you know of any reason why someone might want to harm you?” The man took a step towards her and fear clashed with panic again, welling up to stir the sickness in her belly and bring bile up her throat.

She backed off a few steps, shaking her head in denial even though her heart and head screamed that there might be. It was entirely possible that someone was out to hurt her, and that meant that everything the man said had happened, had happened.

Someone had grabbed her, drugged her, and this man or someone from this house had saved her.

Nina’s back hit a wall and she gasped. The man’s eyes narrowed on her and she looked away, afraid he would see the truth in her eyes. She didn’t want him to get into trouble because of her, at least not any more than he already had.

Had he been the one to save her?

Her throat closed again as she thought about that, sure he must have fought the man off in order to help her. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her palms against the wall behind her, her fingertips clawing at the smooth surface as she tried to anchor herself in the swirling storm of her emotions.

“I want to leave.” She managed to get the words out but they were quiet, lacking the force and conviction she had wanted to convey in them.

Because part of her didn’t want to leave. Part of her feared what was waiting for her out there. If he had sent someone to take her once, he could send someone again. She had known him too long to believe he would just let her go. She should have been on her guard after rejecting him. She should have expected him to pursue her with the same aggressive intent as he had the time she had fallen in love with him.

Before he had crushed her.

The man’s gaze bore into her, commanding her to open her eyes and look at him, to find the strength to say those words with more conviction so he would let her leave.

She had to protect him.

He didn’t know what he had become involved in by helping her and she didn’t want him to pay for his kindness.

Not as she had paid for hers so many times and in so many ways.

Her Sinful Angel is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback.

Find all the links, a fantastic 5 chapter downloadable sample of the book, and also how to enter the giveaway and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at herwebsite:

Felicity Heaton is a New York Times and USA Today international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books. In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you’re a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and angels, then take a look at the new Her Angel series.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places: